Does Your Pet Have a Drinking Problem

Last week the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO revealed that Australia is encountering hotter, stronger and more frequent heatwaves than ever before and pet product expert PetSafe® Brand is urging pet owners not to forget to keep their furry friends fully hydrated this summer.

As we head towards the hottest months of the year, PetSafe® Brand have coined November “Hydration Month” and aim to raise awareness about the importance of hydration and the common misconceptions when it comes to signs of dehydration in pets, which could ultimately save pets’ life.

After a straw poll amongst pet owners on Facebook, the PetSafe® Brand team were alarmed to discover that three quarters of respondents didn’t know how much water their pets needed to drink per day.

Official guidelines state that pets require 70ml of water per kilogram of weight per day, yet only 26% of people were aware of this, suggesting dogs and cats are falling short of their recommended daily water intake which could prove critical during the forecasted heatwaves this summer.

Angela Critchley, International Marketing Director for PetSafe® Brand, said: “This is such an important subject for pet owners and one that isn’t spoken about enough. Providing sufficient water is essential for the health and wellbeing of pets, and this is even more important during the summer heat, which looks set to become one of the hottest on record this year following the recent Climate Change report.

“The quality of the water is also key, and we were surprised to find that 42% of Facebook respondents said they sometimes allow their pet to drink from “random” water sources such as puddles and rivers. To provide proper hydration, pets should be taking on board clean, fresh water straight from the bowl; drinking from potentially dirty water sources can have the opposite effect on your pet’s health, so it’s important to monitor pet drinking habits at all times.”

During November, PetSafe® Brand will be running a series of campaigns online to raise awareness about hydration and how to spot the danger signs. Symptoms of dehydration include lethargy, sunken eyes, loss of appetite and depression. Another tell-tale symptom is dry and sticky gums and a loss of moisture around the mouth.

For anyone struggling to keep on top of their pet’s drinking needs due to work or lifestyle, the PetSafe® Drinkwell® Pet Fountain range is an ideal solution, providing constant free falling water that’s filtered to keep it clean and fresh for hours. Visit http://store.intl.petsafe.net/en-au/health-wellness/fountains for details.